Challenge yourself to tat 25 motifs within the next 12 months and show us your progress. A motif can be a medallion, snowflake, heart, bookmark, butterfly, earrings or any small piece of tatting. Tell us where the pattern is from or if it's original. Post pictures on your blog, web page or photo page. Add a comment below the current post giving the location of your pictures and you will be added to the list of links.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Bettas, Butterflies and Bookmarks

Eva has some tatting involving 3 shuttles. The chain of blue and yellow split rings is for her glasses, the colours are for the Swedish team.

Elizabeth is finding that the patterns she creates are either things she loves or once is enough. Fortunately this is one she loves to tat. A beautiful flower with butterfly accents and now that she's addicted to Marilee's HDT threads there could be a lot more colour variations.

Sylvia worked these 2 Mary Knoior designs in Aquarelle thread emptying shuttles. Pretty colours but she has to be careful not to split the thread. The next piece was something where she made the tassel and then just kept tatting until she ran out of thread. The last piece used to empty a shuttle is another Mary Konior design "Babylace". She used the ring and chain colours on one side then switched them for the second side. Clever!

Anne needs a large doily but she's having trouble finding one that's suitable without tatting a lot of motifs. She's wondering if she's going to end up tatting a lot of medium size doilies before admitting that she's going to have to tat a lot of motifs.

Margaret received her thread shipment and managed to complete her Eastern Star in time to give it to her friend Ginger. She has received her Pay it Forward package from Joy a lovely tatted cross in variegated pastels. Now it's her turn to Pay it Forward to the first 3 people who comment on her blog. Jeff has finally finished "IT" which is a tatted Betta and he's not sure whether he can reproduce it or not since it was done free form. He has done Jane's TIAS but he hasn't been taking pictures of each day. Jeff has also been test tatting for Linda Davis and gives us a peak at the gladiolus that will be in her next book. Isn't it gorgeous? He posted a picture of the Filigree Scroll pattern he did some time ago. It's one that Gina was working on too and the instructions for it are a little dicey.

Aileen is a little late with some exchange items. There is a bookmark in in purple and yellow Floretta and Marilee Rockley's 'Quickie Snowflake Earrings' pattern which she attached to a metal bookmark stem. Helma Siepmann's flowers and Pam Palmer's Tortoiseshell Butterfly were added to a towel for the SnN Towel Exchange. It's a more practical idea than a tatted edging since it won't need special care while washing, yet it perfectly showcases beautiful lace, which is great considering it's on a towel. I have tatted edgings on some guest towels and I like using them but hate having to block them every time they're used. After seeing Wally's beautiful pinwheel doily Aileen had to try a pinwheel pattern for herself and she used some of her own hand dyed thread to tat this motif and now has to decide if she wants to do more of the same motif or used her HDT on something else. Bonnie has posted Just a Bit of what she's tatting. This is her largest project so far and she test tatted it in white before using her beautiful HDT thread…and made a mistake requiring a major retro tat.Joy tatted this small doily from A New Twist on Tatting in size 30 Cebelia thread. She's looking up the different categories that she can enter things in for the local farm show. Lots of tatting possibilities.Ellen is working on the TIAS. Maybe it's an animal? Working with some size 10 thread she tatted this very clever heart on a paper clip. I love the way Ellen's designs always have simple clean joyful lines. The TIAS for another day is done and still no one is the wiser as to what they are making. Ais tatted the ice cream cone but cut off because the cone didn't work out right. The square motif is pretty just on it's own and it's done in a variegated Viscose thread she got from her sister. The bookmark is Julie Patterson's pattern for the Spring Flower Bookmark done in more of the Viscose thread that doesn't have a label. Nita is working on the TIAS project, maybe it's a poodle? She did this celtic doily with Marilee's "Tourmaline" size 20 DMC Cordonnet. The close up shows the celtic weaving better. Tatting Chic received the CQ square that Melissa did for her in exchange for tatting an ice cream cone for her. Diane has finished all of her bookmarks and restarted Stella AlpinaJoyce's anniversary heart with 50 gold beads is a wonderful idea.Pamela is having a return of gecko madness.Arlene has a tatted edging and a new carrying case.Clyde has finished a many motif round on his doily which is now about 14 inches across.Mark has some interesting lock stitch chain work going on.Snowy has a new tatting book and she made one motif using SLT and a second using mock rings.Marilee has a new batch of "Fern".Laura has changed Inga Madsen's starling into Dumbledore's Phoenix, well maybe it needs a wee colour adjustment.Marty's working on the TIAS.Melissa has received that ice cream cone from TattingChic and added it to her CQ block with a strawberry and some sprinkles. The bookmark now resides in her Bible.Wally has just received her Puerto Rican Artisan License. Congratulations Wally.

Martha has been studying techniques. Now there's a bird of a different feather.

Gina has been tatting from Traditional Tatting Patterns edited by Rita Weiss and she doesn't like the way this one lies.